William Bridges, in his book Managing Transitions, notes the difference between change and transitions.  Internal change in ACPE over the past decade has included a new governance structure, the dissolution of the regions, a new certification process, and a new accreditation process. Externally change in the world that ACPE exists in has included a pandemic (I won’t even begin to try and name the changes COVID has brought to our world), a dramatically different landscape in spiritual care and education (competition in the marketplace), a shifting political landscape that impacts two big entities we interact with, the US Department of Education and Medicare pass through, and on and on.

Once a month the ACPE Professional Ethics Commission (PEC) posts a couple of statements from our Code of Professional Ethics for ACPE Members. Each posting is accompanied by a brief personal reflection from a member of the PEC discussing some ways this person lives these commitments*. April’s statements are:

c. Maintain professional relationships with other persons in the ACPE Center, institution in which employed, and/or the community.

d. Do not directly or by implication claim professional qualifications that exceed actual qualifications or misrepresent their affiliation with any institution, organization, or individual; are responsible for correcting the misrepresentation or misunderstanding of their professional qualifications or affiliations.

Conference Theme: “Truth and Reconciliation: Pastoral Caregiving Within the Process of Radical Socio-Political Transformation, Change and Conflict”

In 2015, the ICPCC Congress met in San Francisco in conjunction with the ACPE annual meeting. This amazing group of international chaplains, theologians, and educators comes together every four years for learning and collaboration with one another. As ACPE is growing toward a more global awareness of international partners and learning from spiritual care and CPE models outside of N. America, conferences such as this Congress provide opportunities for us to build relationships, learn and expand our perspectives. Hope you will consider attending!

The ACPE Curriculum Committee has been hard at work putting together our annual conference that will occur May 21st-25th in New Orleans. Thank you to so many of you who have submitted workshop proposals, who have agreed to help lead the conference, and who have expressed your excitement about our time together and plan to attend. Given the focus of our conference, it is fitting that we will be meeting in a city that contains many cultural, racial/ethnic, and religious influences.